Panaji: Three young lives were lost on Goa’s roads in a single day as two separate collisions brought the state’s rising traffic casualties back into focus.
The fatal crashes occurred on Monday – one on Porvorim side of the new Mandovi bridge and the other along national highway at Goa Velha.
In the first incident, which involved a two-wheeler and a taxi in the early hours of Monday, Porvorim police said that two students, Yash Mallik (20) and Kushagra Patale (21), died in the crash.
Mallik, a resident of Haryana, and Patale, a resident of Mumbai, were studying at an educational institute in South Goa, police said, adding that they were travelling on a two-wheeler towards Panaji when the taxi, moving towards Porvorim, collided head-on with them on the bridge.
The rider and the pillion passenger died on the spot, while the taxi driver and two tourists suffered minor injuries, police said. Porvorim police have registered a case of motor vehicle accident and are investigating the matter.
In the second accident, 22-year-old Mitesh Shet died after his two-wheeler collided with a stationary military truck.
Agacaim police said that Shet, a resident of North Goa, was heading towards Panaji after attending an event in South Goa. Police said an FIR has been registered in connection with the incident.
Road accident statistics show that the state recorded 198 fatal accidents claiming 208 lives between January and October 13, this year.
During the corresponding period last year, 197 fatal road accidents resulted in 203 deaths, according to the data.
Overall, 2,058 road accidents have been reported this year, with 1,200 classified as non-injury incidents involving only vehicle damage. Besides the fatal crashes, 203 accidents were classified as grievous in nature, leaving 258 people with severe injuries. Another 457 minor accidents were reported in which 749 people sustained minor injuries.
